Lieutenant governor buzz grows louder – and more mysterious

Some San Franciscans are finding themselves recipients of an e-mail survey billed as a “questionnaire (that) will help shape policy being crafted at City Hall.”

The Chronicle

Is the 2011 mayor of San Francisco in this picture? Nobody knows for sure.

In truth, it’s all about Mayor Gavin Newsom’s potential run for lieutenant governor and what it would mean for the city if he leaves office in January 2011 rather than a year later when his term is up.

Questions include “How do you feel about Gavin Newsom leaving office early?” and how survey takers feel about potential mayoral replacements: former Supervisor Aaron Peskin, State Sen. Leland Yee, Supervisor David Chiu and City Attorney Dennis Herrera.

The questions are being asked by Survey California, which calls itself “a non-partisan opinion research firm”. But there’s no attached phone number and its e-mail address doesn’t seem to work. City Hall insiders and pollsters alike don’t know the organization. We asked the Chamber of Commerce, which has been vocal about wanting Newsom to remain mayor, if it commissioned the survey and got a firm no.

That’s not the only mystery surrounding Newsom’s potential run; the mayor himself says he still doesn’t know if he’ll enter the race. A host of editorials, columnists and business groups have come out asking Newsom to remain in office for the good of the city, but it doesn’t sound like they’re swaying him much.

“It’s nice to know they’re around. It’s nice to know I’m needed,” he said. “My point is where have they been?”

“It’s no surprise I’m looking at running for another office,” he continued. “I’m out of here. I’m termed out anyway…I do take my job seriously, but I’m capable of doing a lot of things at one time. By definition, it’s a skill set I must have.”

He added that if people are so concerned about one of the supervisors becoming mayor for the year before the next scheduled mayoral election, maybe they shouldn’t have elected them to the board in the first place.

“If it’s just concern with me leaving, maybe they should look at who they elected,” he said.